A child actor on British television from 1968, Peter Firth has been in films since 1973's Brother Sun, Sister Moon. Full theatrical stardom came Firth's way in 1973 with his disturbingly convincing portrayal of horse-mutilating stable boy Arthur Strang in Peter Shaffer's Equus. He repeated this role in the 1977 film version, earning a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination. He went on to such film characterizations as the title character in Joseph Andrews (1977), Angel Clare in Tess (1977) and Ivan Patten in Hunt for Red October (1990). His credits in the past decade have included Shadowlands (1993), An Awfully Big Adventure (1995), and a voiceover in the Disney animated feature The Rescuers Down Under (1990). Peter Firth returned to British TV in 1994 as star of the weekly Heartbeat.
Peter Firth
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- Parents owned the local pub.
- Was a child actor, starting on British television, appearing in the children's series Here Come the Double Deckers (1970).
- Took weekend classes at the Bradford Playhouse.
- Originated the role of Alan Strang in the West End premiere of Equus in 1973; he later transferred with the show to Broadway and appeared in the 1977 version of the film.
- Replaced Tim Curry as Mozart during the original Broadway run of Amadeus.
- Was the only actor to appear in all ten seasons of MI-5.